A Gamer Girl Blog!

Cosplay

Cosplaying is awesome because you can be whoever you want to be. Forget about who you are at your day job – when you cosplay you can be a super hero! Or a super VILLAIN (my preference)!

My latest villain crush is the great Guzma from Pokemon Sun and Moon. He’s the boss of Team Skull, with an over-the-top persona and a fragile ego. He has a signature squat! He’s the whipping boy of… (redacted to prevent spoilers!!)

Anyway, I’m really into Guzma and I’ve decided I’m going to explore the idea of doing a gender-bend cosplay of Guzma because it seems like a fun DIY concept. Guzma’s outfit consists of mostly ‘normal’ clothes which makes for a much less intimidating cosplay idea. Let’s break down the costume into parts!

Clothing:

black hoodie (short sleeves?!) with zig-zag accent on sides and Team Skull logo on the backside

black sweatpants with white cross stripes

white tanktop

These are all easily obtainable items, if I don’t have them already. I think to add a slight touch of sexiness to the gender-bend cosplay, I will wear a tight fit white tank showing some cleavage, but I’ll keep the sweat suit baggy. (Oooh I love comfy cosplay!!) The biggest challenge here is the zigzag stripe on the hoodie and the criss-cross stripes on the pants. I can either try to do this myself using felt and some hot glue or basic sewing skills (dicey) or have the design commissioned by someone a little more professional. I found this sweatsuit that I think would work well. I wonder if it’s worth it to cut the sleeves, or should I just roll them up? Hmm…

Accessories:

All of these accessories are purchase-able, which makes life a lot easier. I find that sometimes it’s more cost-effective to just buy something that looks authentic, than for me to spend time and money on materials only to end up with something looking shoddy. (Yeah I guess my crafting abilities are sub-par lol.)

I am struggling to figure out what to do about Guzma’s tattoo. It looks like a purple S from the Team Skull logo. I doubt I’ll find a temp tattoo to use. Should I just draw it on with marker?? If anyone can enlighten me on that, I’m all ears.

As far as makeup, I think this would be a lot of fun. I can wear dark eye shadow, go crazy w/black eyeliner and keep everything else very simple.

Does anyone have any other ideas or input? Where are all the Plumeria and Team Skull Grunt cosplayers? Let’s get organized!!

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Whoops I should have posted this a while ago… like right after MAGfest. Oh well!

Those who follow me on social media already know that I ended up switching my cosplay at the last minute. I’ll probably do Link next month at PAX East instead. (More on that coming in a future blog post…!) I opted to bring my Pikachu cosplay to MAGfest instead, since it’s easier to transport. Plus I brought extra Pikachu ears so my little sister could join me in the cosplay fun, even tho her version was a little more casual lol!

The event itself was a lot of fun. I tend to enjoy smaller cons more because they aren’t as intensely crowded and you don’t feel so lost. But I was disappointed that the amazing musical group Triforce Quartet had not been invited to perform this year. But my friend introduced me to a funny metal group called Psycho Stick, so that kind of made up for it. I recommend that everyone look up both of these acts because they’re both great for their own reasons!

Here are some photos of my Pikachu cosplay from MAGfest! Enjoy!

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Last year I didn’t get to attend MAGFest, which was super sad. This year… BACK ON TRACK! Since my sister and brother in law have never been to a geeky convention before, I’ll be bringing them along for their first con experience! I’m super excited! Only sad news for me is that the Triforce Quartet isn’t playing at MAGFest 2016. (How can this be??? *sadface*)

Of course this means I had to decide on a cosplay to lug down to Maryland for the con. I decided to go with Link from Legend of Zelda. I figured this was a good winter season cosplay since I get to wear pants and a hat lol! Now that I have a Master Sword and Hylian Shield, I was kind of panicking about how I was going to carry my props on public transportation. The sword was too big for any duffel bag! After a stroke of genius, I realized I could fit everything into a guitar case. 🙂

I also picked up the Legend of Zelda Adventurer’s Pouch Kit from GameStop to complete my cosplay look. After I pieced all the parts of the cosplay together, I decided to take some teaser shots and put myself in Hyrule. I had a lot of fun with it! Check out my Photoshop comps for Link.

Link in Kokiri Forest

Link and the Master Sword!

Legend of Zelda Crest

Hopefully I’ll have more photos next weekend so I can make even MORE Photoshop comps! This is my favorite way to nerd out lol! I’ll try to blog again when I’m back in NY. For those who are staying local this weekend, be sure to check out the grand re-opening of the newly renamed “Nintendo NYC” store on the 19th. (I find this new name very intriguing… makes me think more Nintendo stores might pop up in different regions in the future…!!)

Side Note: Who’s collecting Animal Crossing Amiibo Cards: Series 2?? I will post soon with my spares and which cards I’m still missing. I am willing to send cards by mail if needed. Check back soon for updates!

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Lots of gamers go to conventions and see cosplayers and think, “I wish I could cosplay too, but I don’t even know where to get started.” MAGFest is coming up next week and while I was thinking about which cosplay I will be doing, I found some articles that can help you start brainstorming and preparing your first costume!

The first article I found is actually a video made by Kris Kittie for All That’s Cosplay titled, “Epic Cosplay Video: Cosplay Planning Made Easy.” Kris Kittie explains how budgeting your time is vital, and it’s important to know your capabilities and allow time for troubleshooting when creating your costume. Being organized will help you greatly, and always collect lots of reference images. She also stressed that waiting until the last minute usually causes cosplayers lots of anxiety, and costumes can sometimes start falling apart if built at the last minute!

The second article I found was from Observation Deck – an in-depth overview called “Cosplay 1.01 – A Beginner’s Introduction to Cosplay” written by Variable. This post was very comprehensive and discussed how anyone can be a cosplayer, as long as you know your limits and plan ahead. Compiling reference images from every angle is recommended, and keep a realistic schedule leading up to a convention. She discussed how going to cons can be a lot of fun and you can make a lot of friends, but be aware that there are still some issues with harassment… remember, cosplay is supposed to be fun for everyone!

If you’re looking to get started in cosplay and are choosing a character, keep these 3 important tips in mind:

Budget Your Time – Plan ahead, create a realistic schedule for yourself, and remember that ordering props from overseas can result in long shipping times, so start working on a cosplay months before the convention starts!

Use References – If you want to be proud of your work and have an authentic cosplay, it’s extremely important to have reference images from every angle (including front, back, side and prop details) to be sure you are making the best choices when buying materials.

Know Your Capabilities – Cosplay beginners probably shouldn’t choose a character with complicated body armor; stick to what you know you can make, and choose a character that you will feel comfortable portraying.

It’s pretty clear that being organized and planning ahead is the best strategy when starting to create a new cosplay character. But the most important thing to remember is that cosplay is for everyone and the main goal is to HAVE FUN!

Gluxbox is my codename and gamertag! I’m a cosplayer, gamer and blogger. This article was written mostly for fun, but also because I’m taking a course called Engagement & Nurture Marketing at Coursera.org and this was an assignment! If you want to contact me, you can find me @gluxbox on Twitter!

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Mayor Gluxie had been missing from Jubilife Town in ACNL for quite some time. Weeks, months probably… Isabelle was up to her doggy ears in paperwork trying to pick up the slack. Where was Mayor Gluxie? There wasn’t much of an excuse for the absence all summer, but in the past month, Animal Crossing Villagers had been spotted in another popular Nintendo title.

Where the Villager has been…

OK, so maybe you pro’s might notice that the Villager pictured here isn’t really Mayor Gluxie. Let’s just go with the suspension of disbelief ok? They didn’t make Mayor Gluxie’s face type an option in Super Smash Bros. 3DS lol! Also, I don’t know if anyone else noticed this but the “sprite” of the Villager character still maintains the fashion style and proportions of the ACCF/ACWW Villager, note that you can see the female Villager’s undies – something that was done away with in the newest installment of the game. The Villager is also not as tall and slender as in ACNL. Am I the only one who cares? Probably.

Since the release of Super Smash Bros. 3DS on October 3rd, I’ve been playing this game practically non-stop. When I need a dose of nonviolence, I’ll switch over to ACNL, Harvest Moon or Tomodachi Life. But that usually doesn’t last long before I start jonesin’ for some more Smash action. I’m really enjoying the latest Smash Bros. game, there are a lot of new features and game modes. Plus… you can take SCREENSHOTS! I’ve decided to turn Smash into my own personal Pokemon Snap Redux. I’m going to start taking photos of every Pokemon and build myself a Smash Pokedex. And of course, I’ll only use the BEST photos, only the ones that would be up to Professor Oak’s standards! Save that for a future blog entry… lol!

Pokemon Snap Smash!

Overall, I have a ton of things I love about Super Smash Bros. 3DS. The updated graphics look amazing, the new characters add more options and being able to customize them really opens up the playing field in the competitive scene. I love the multiplayer options – from the original Smash mode to Smash Run and don’t forget the 2-Player games like Multi-man Smash! Since the game is now portable, it’s even easier to participate in local Smash Tournaments in the area. I recently went to a tournament in NYC and we dressed up in Smash Bros. cosplay. It was so much fun!

Smash Bros. Cosplayers!

I might not have won the tournament (wah) but I did make it to the second round, and I got a decent number of KO’s. I just need to keep practicing. If any of you out there want to battle, hit me up on Twitter – @gluxbox!

If that wasn’t enough gaming for you, there are three cool titles coming out THIS FRIDAY (Oct. 24th)! Coming to stores is the adorable Fantasy Life, which is another open-world style game with a bit of action and quests thrown in. Also coming out on 10/24 is Pokemon Art Academy so we can learn how to draw some of our favorite Pokemon – and I hear each game comes with a demo code for Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby, which is coming out this November! Not to be forgotten is Bayonetta 2 releasing this Friday for the Wii U, which has really cool dark graphics and a lot of magic and dragon-filled action/adventure (check out the demo on the eShop now)! I’m definitely picking up Fantasy Life on Friday… the others might have to wait. Too many games, my wallet can’t handle it lol!

What games have YOU been playing lately?? 😀

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OK now that I’m back from my trip to California and Las Vegas, I finally have a chance to catch up on some awesome blogging action for you Glux Blog readers! First up is full coverage of the Animal Crossing New Leaf Launch Party at the Nintendo World Store in New York City.

June 8th was the big day! Nintendo announced that they’d be releasing ACNL one day early at the Nintendo World Store, along with an ACNL take-over of the store! The event was running from 9AM – 1PM. Obviously I had to be there. Apparently, so did hundreds of other people!

JDubz and I arrived early, around 7:30AM to get a decent spot in line. We weren’t in the first 100 sadly (those lucky folks got free ACNL skins for their 3DS) but we had plenty of time to chat with other ACNL fans and check StreetPasses! We also met up with our friends from StreetPass NYC, including their founder Jordan W. who was dressed up as Resetti and lecturing people in line!

Jordan wasn’t the only one who dressed up. I’d spent the past week putting together a little cosplay for myself. I decided to dress up as an Animal Crossing Villager! Check out my costume!

As you can see, I was sporting the popular BB shirt, some camo shorts, ladder shades and a bug net! I was SO ready for this! I wonder how Gracie would have rated me? (BTW, I do NOT recommend wearing ladder shades EVER in life. It’s very difficult to see anything, very disorienting and does NOTHING to block the sun from your eyes. Novelty use ONLY!)

This is the cool 3D window display that they had up at the Nintendo World Store. HYPE!! We couldn’t wait to get in. It wasn’t until sometime after 10AM that we actually made it into the store to get in line to buy all of our stuff. For the record, I only bought the guide at this event, since I was planning to download a digital copy of the game from the eShop the following day.

As you can imagine, the line inside the store was extremely long. Luckily, the Nintendo World Store was nice enough to have a free photobooth kiosk set up near the line. JDubz and I popped in to take a few shots. They let me do it a second time because I forgot to put my ladder shades down in my photos with JDubz. I also think they let me do it a second time cuz I was one of only a few people who really went all-out with cosplay for this event lol!

Once we finished our purchases, it was time to have fun with all the activities that were set up in store! Time for a Photolog!

An ACNL Coloring Wall! Grab a marker and color away! I colored in that lower case “r” in purple… just cause!

Posing with a cut-out train lol!

This was the Bug Catching Booth. Similar to those booths where they throw a bunch of cash to blow around in a booth and you have to grab as much as you can with your hands, this one had little slips of paper with bugs drawn on them. I got an ACNL button for participating!

Blathers’ Matching Game! The NWS Employees put a bunch of fossil drawings face down and we had to match them – just like the Island Tour Matching Game in ACNL!

Fishing with Kapp’n! Magnetic fishing rods were handed to participants, and you had to “fish” for two matching fish that were illustrated on the back of some magnetic “shadows.” It was very cute and harder than it looked!

DJ K.K. was on hand to spin some club music for everyone!

This was a small part of a really cute diorama made to look like a mini version of an Animal Crossing town. It was hand made by NWS employees. So awesome!!!

COSPLAYERS PHOTO OP!!

This was one of the most entertaining launch events that I’ve ever seen at NWS. Maybe it’s just because I’m so enthused about Animal Crossing, but I really felt they pulled out all the stops for this party. I’m really happy to see so many people excited to play ACNL too! And it’s not just girls, plenty of grown men were on line to pick up this game! I can’t wait to start playing online with everybody! Now that I’m back from vacation, there will be plenty of time for WIFI gaming! 😀

Just have to put this out there: StreetPass Long Island is hosting an ACNL Event of our own on Sunday, 6/23! We are having the event at the beautiful Clark Botanic Gardens from 1-4PM. We will be handing out Flower Hybrid Guides, a new Hybrid Flower Chart, and of course playing the game together! I have lots of giveaways from my JP town of Wasabi to give to all gamers who attend the event! For more details, please visit our website for more details: The ACNL SUPER AWESOME GARDEN PARTY!